Hank Aaron, at the stadium named in his honor where his childhood home has been moved and turned into a museum, was warmly greeted between games of Friday night's Southern League doubleheader between the Mobile BayBears and Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Aaron threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the second game and made a couple of other pitches while he had everyone's attention.

Most notably, Aaron, named honorary chairman of the 2014 Mobile Bay World Leisure Congress, which was announced earlier in the day, threw his support behind the event and noted that it marks the latest in a round of recent good news for his hometown.

"I'm quite honored to be part of this, I really am," Aaron said. "Everywhere I go, before so much was focused on baseball and athletics. Now, when you talk about Mobile, you can talk about a lot of different things. Some wonderful things are happening here in Mobile."

The same is true of the Hank Aaron Childhood Home and Museum in Gaslight Park at The Hank. Aaron said even now seeing the house his father built always gets his attention.

"It brings back goose pimples and things like that. It looks very good," Aaron said of the museum. "I love being here. This is home. I like the people here, and the stadium is nice. I enjoy just being here."

Knowing that children who visit the museum can learn about his hometown, its accomplishments and a bit of its history, including the city's baseball ties, gives Aaron a strong sense of pride.

"That's what it's all about," Aaron said. "It's not about anything but showing to people that if I can make it, you can do the same thing."

A few days ago, Aaron spent some time at the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City during the All-Star Game weekend. He toured the facility and was featured in a question-and-answer session at the museum.

"Going back there meant a lot to me because most of the players (featured there) I'm familiar with," Aaron said. "I got a chance to meet with Frank Robinson and some of the other guys.

"It's a tremendous building and a lot of people have put a lot of things into it. Just being in that building brought back a lot of memories for me because I'm familiar with a lot of the guys."

Along with Aaron, other Negro Leagues players from Mobile, such as Satchel Paige and Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe, are mentioned at the museum and have items from their careers on display.

"They've got a lot of wonderful things in there that people need to see," he said. "Even I, when I got back there, I'm amazed at some of the things that have been collected from other places and that are on display there."

As with his museum here, Aaron said venues such as the Negro Leagues Museum are important because they document the country's past, not just its baseball past.

"I think it meant an awful lot," Aaron said."I wasn't the only one there. The commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig, came by and it meant an awful lot. There were a lot of kids there, and (the museum) needed something like this to energize it. Having the All-Star game in Kansas City meant an awful lot to the Negro Leagues Museum."

Aaron had surgery on his left knee in January. He walked slowly with a noticeable limp Friday night, but he said the rehabilitation is going well.

"It's coming along all right," he said.

It had no affect on his pitching style, though, delivering a strike in his ceremonial first-pitch appearance while surrounded by several youngsters from area Boys and Girls Clubs.